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He said one activity always stood out above the rest: track and field.

Roscoe cemented his sport on Wednesday, signing with Banner Elk’s Lees-McRae College to continue his track and field career in college. Over the years, Roscoe also excelled at football in the fall and basketball in the winter during his high school tenure.

Roscoe was sold on the Bobcats’ program and head coach Ley Fletcher during a campus visit, he said. He said it helps that Lees-McRae has the size and setting Roscoe is looking for, along with a strong program in his chosen field of study.

“I absolutely loved the coach and the teammates whenever I went up there to tour,� Roscoe said. “The coach gave me a chance to eat lunch with the track team that’s up there right now, and it just completely sent me over the edge to know that’s the school I need to go to.

“The other things that attracted me to the school were, first, the location. It’s not too big of a school to where I can’t have a connection with the teachers, but it’s also not small enough to where it doesn’t really feel like I’m at a college. The coach absolutely was amazing. Everything he told me just sold me on it. Their academic program for pre-veterinarian and animal science is top-notch for me.�

Roscoe is joining Lees-McRae primarily as a jumper, but he’ll also have the opportunity to do some running for the Bobcats. That fits in with the team atmosphere at the school, Roscoe said.

“I got offered for long jump and triple jump, but he also said I’ll be able to do sprinting events,� Roscoe said. “So, I’ll do long jump, triple jump, 100 and 200 sprints. After talking with the team when I got to go up there and eat lunch with them, they made it seem like the team wasn’t separated (by events). If you do this event, you don’t only stick around with other people for your event.

“It’s like everybody on the team is close and friends. They do everything together. They try their hardest to make it like a team and a family.�

Roscoe began track and field about seven years ago, he said. It didn’t take him long to understand that it would be a long-term endeavor of his.

“I’ve done track since I was technically in fifth grade because my mom was the track coach at the middle school I was going to. I had to join their practices and all that,� Roscoe said. “After that, I fell in love with it. By seventh or eighth grade, I knew for a fact that that was the sport I wanted to continue in.�

Roscoe’s senior year didn’t play out exactly as expected. When Patton didn’t field a varsity football team in the fall due to low participation numbers, Roscoe temporarily transferred to Draughn High School to play football. But he’s been back at Patton the past couple months playing basketball and now will get to enjoy his senior track and field season with the Panthers.

“It just feels amazing,� Roscoe said. “Going to a new school wasn’t exactly what I was planning for my senior year. The whole time I was over at (Draughn), I was thinking that I can’t wait to get back and join the track team, get back with my family here and do what I feel like I was meant to do.�

Roscoe said he is grateful to his family, coaches and plenty of others for their encouragement and guidance throughout his track career.

“I want to thank my parents because they have been my No. 1 supporters throughout all of it,� Roscoe said. “Without my mom, I probably wouldn’t even be in track. I’d also like to thank (Liberty Middle School track coach Chris) Wiseman for really pushing me through middle school and not telling me I can’t do it. If he didn’t coach me the way that he did, I probably wouldn’t have stuck with track or done the events that I do.

“I have a lot of other people to thank who have trained me outside of high school.�